Samos

Samos has nice beaches, fabulous nature, tourist-friendly villages as well as genuine villages, nice hikes, good roads, waterfalls, interesting sites, good wine, good food, it is close to Turkey... In short: Samos has something for everyone. It is hard to get tired of this island that see many travellers return year after year. Actually, some people I know have travelled to Samos for nine years straight. Each time they stay longer, and they still claim there is more to discover.

Getting there
Charter flights leave from all over Europe. If you choose to travel on your own, it is easy to book a seat directly to Samos. Boat travellers need to remember that there are three harbours: Karlovassi, Pythagorion and Samos town. To Pythagorion you go by the so called "Flying Dolphins", and the bigger boats go to and from Karlovassi and Samos Town. Samos has good boat connections with Patmos, Lipsi, Leros, Fourni, Ikaria and Piraeus.

Getting around
Local busses start in Samos town and can take you more or less around the entire island. Most of the trips have Pythagorion in the south and Karlovassi in the north for destination. But to take the taxi is often a preferable alternative. Samos is also one of the best islands to drive around. The roads are in good shape, and some of the parts have incredibly beautiful and dramatic surroundings. You can rent cars, mopeds and bicycles in the bigger towns.

Villages
The island has many pleasant villages, and particularly the mountain villages is an important part of Samos' grandeur. One of these, Manolates, is by many considered one of the most picturesque in the entire Greek island world. See the descriptions of some of the many beautiful islands below.

Pythagorion
This place is situated at a horseshoe-shaped bay. And it offers one of the best harbour walks you can find. You are surrounded by taverns and bars, and along the docks the big luxury boats lie beside sailboats, trip-boats and fishing boats. A pleasant harbour indeed. Even though Pythagorion is dominated by tourism, you can still find true Greek living. In the alleys, where many Greeks have their homes, you find old men selling fish and vegetables and in the Greek stores the older women are sitting waiting for the customers to arrive. Along the main street lie several shops, travel agencies, souvenir stores, banks, and moped- and car rentals.

Samos town- Vathi
The capital and administrative centre of the island have less than 6000 residents. It is called Samos town, or Vathi, and is a pleasant place with amazingly beautiful houses. I the winding alleys you will find small stores, ouzeries and kafenións. The archaeological museum is well worth seeing. Tourism has not been able to strike its claws into Samos town, at least not to the same extent as in for example Kokkari and Pythagorion. The beautiful view over Samos town is shown on this page (top left).

Manolates
Manolates is the village above all of Samos' villages and one of the islands most popular outings. It is situated 380 meters above sea level in a verdant long valley on the north side of Samos. The main road that runs through the village is like a dream. Perhaps a bit tourist-like in some places, but it does not get to you. Most of the stores sell art and pottery and many nice taverns lies in the village.

Beaches
Samos has several nice beaches, both sand and pebble-stones. Here is a description of some of them.

Psili Amos 1
Often called "The best beach of Samos", this is a place with many enthusiastic followers. For my part I find it heavily overrated. It is hard to move in the thick crowd and between the tightly packed sun chairs. But Psili Amos 1 is very suitable for families with children - you have to walk far to reach deep water.

Psili Amos 2
Not far after you have passed Votsalakia lies Psili Amos 2. It is a long, fine beach with terribly shallow water. It is without a doubt the best of the "Psilibeaches" and perhaps the best on entire Samos. Few tourists, reasonably unexplored, fine sand, shallow water, and the bottom of the sea are lovely and visible due to the crystal clear water.

Potokai
The longest beach on Samos lies next to the airport, a few kilometres outside of Pythagorion. It is truly a long beach; there are huge masses of sun chairs, but there still plenty of free space for you who prefer bast-mats, beach towels or air mattresses. The tree Tamarisk grows beside some parts of the beach and casts a pleasant shade on a hot afternoon. There are also some taverns and canteens.

Votsalakia
Votsalakia is typical holiday resort and has a 2 kilometres long sand and rubble-stone beach. The road to Drakei runs through the village. On the one side you have the beach and on the other lies small hotels, taverns, mini markets, karaoke-bars and everything else that belongs to a charter-village.

Sights
The greatest sight on Samos is without a doubt the magnificent nature. Especially on the west side of the island. The mountain villages should also count as one of the main attractions. But mans hand has also made its mark on Samos, perhaps most strikingly when constructing the claustrophobically designed tunnel above Pythagorion. Below you can read about the interesting monastery Panagia tis Spiliani. You can learn more about these and the rest of the sights from the cd-guide More Kalimera and our e-guide on Samos (only in Swedish). Some example of sights on the CD: Eupalinos water-pipe-tunnel, the archaeological museum and the strange water fall.

The monastery of Panagia tis Spilianis
From the beautifully suited monastery above Pythagorion you have a fascinating view over the town and Potokaki beach. The cloister garth is leafy and nice looking. Grand cypresses stand as proud Olympic winners by the chapels. To the left of the chapels lies a cave which hosts a strange church, which has given the monastery its name. The Greek word for cave is spilia. Down the stairs to the right you see the pretty little blue church, which at most have room for four to five visitors at the time. The cave is cool and perfect place to refresh. Have in mind that you should be properly dressed and cover your arms and legs when visiting the monastery.

Accommodation
Samos is not a typical island for islandhoppers. And because most of the tourists go by charter there are not so many offers on rooms for rent in the harbours as on islands like Paros and Naxos. Personally I think Pythagorion is the best place to stay. It is close both to the hydrofoil boats and the airport, and it is the most likable town on Samos.

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© 1997 - 2006 Janne Eklund / KALIMERA